A woman who became a viral sensation after being branded the "Zombie Angelina Jolie" revealed what she actually looks like... following a stint behind bars.
Sahar Tabar is a young Iranian woman who rose to viral fame after posting heavily altered images of herself resembling a gaunt, ghoulish version of Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.
Dubbed the 'Zombie Angelina Jolie', her bizarre photos lit up social media feeds in 2017, showing her with a skeletal face, sunken cheeks, and hauntingly exaggerated features.
Her look was so extreme that rumors swirled that she had undergone more than 50 surgeries to achieve it.
But, after a high-profile arrest and a brief stint behind bars, Sahar’s true face has been revealed — and it’s left the internet stunned.
It turns out the ghoulish look wasn’t real. According to Sahar — whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand — the extreme images were all the result of make-up and digital editing.
She admitted to using Photoshop and cosmetics to create her viral persona. “Cyberspace was an easy way,” she said. “It was much easier than becoming an actor.”
Her unusual edits, she said, were never meant to be taken seriously. Speaking with Sputnik during her viral stardom, Sahar claimed she edited the photos to "amuse" herself, adding that the look was "a form of self-expression."
Still, the attention was real.
The New York Post reported that she had once claimed to have undergone "50 surgeries," but later clarified she had only had rhinoplasty, liposuction, and injectable fillers in her lips.
With her distorted appearance dominating the conversation for years, many were left wondering what Sahar actually looked like — until her release from prison finally provided the answer.
Appearing on Iranian state-owned channel Rokna after her release, Sahar looked nothing like the unsettling version of herself that made her internet famous. Her appearance shocked viewers who had only known her as a virtual specter.
“Wow! It’s so sad what lengths people would go to for fame…” one person wrote online.
Another added: “It’s amazing how many people put so much thought into what other people are doing to be comfortable in their own skin.”
But Sahar’s fame came with consequences. In October 2019, she was arrested by Iranian authorities as part of a broader crackdown on influencers. She was just 19 years old at the time.
She was initially charged with blasphemy, inciting violence, encouraging youth corruption, and gaining income through inappropriate means.
While some of these charges were later dropped, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December 2020 for “corruption of young people and disrespect for the Islamic Republic,” per The Guardian.
However, she served far less than that.
Just days after the sentencing made international headlines, Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad reported that Sahar had been freed following “massive media pressure.”
"Today the Iranian teenager who posted heavily distorted images of herself online was jailed for 10 years has been freed after massive media pressure," Alinejad wrote in a tweet.
Her lawyer, Saied Dehgan, told The Sun that she was released after serving about 15 months behind bars.
Attempts had previously been made to secure her release due to illness. According to BBC News, Tabar’s attorneys petitioned for her freedom after she contracted COVID-19 in jail.